Stamp counting machine



June 8, 1943. w. sLlNN STAMP COUNTING MACHINE l1 Sheets-Sheet 1//7ventor W. H DUNN b @601 x Kik Filed June 12, 1940 June 8, 1943. w s NSTAMP COUNTING MACHINE Filed June 12, 1940 11 Sheets-Sheet 2 Altar/7 cg:

June 8, 1943. w. HfsLlNN STAMP COUNTING MACHINE Filed June 12, 1940 11Sheets-Sheet 3 wmwmx Fig. 5.

39e F v have/war WHBUNN Fig. 6.

Attorneys June 8, 1943. w, sLlNN 2,321,529

STAMP COUNTING MACHINE Filed June 12, 1940 ll Sheets-Sheet 4 //7 mentorW.H.5LINN Attorneys ll Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed :Iune 12, 1940 Fig. 8.

June 8, 1943. w, sLlNN STAMP COUNTING MACHINE Filed June 12, 1940 llSheets-Sheet 6 Fig. 10.

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/m/ent 0r WM DUNN Atorneu W. H. SLINN STAMP COUNTING MACHINE June 8,1943.

Filed June 12, 1940 11 Sheets-Sheet 7 Fig.12

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//2 uentor Attorneqs June 8, 1943. w. H. SLlNN STAMP COUNTING MACHINE llSheets-Sheet 8 Filed June 12, 1940 k L L Inventor whsumw gm Attor June8, 1943. w SUNN STAMP COUNTING MACHINE Filed June 12, 1940 11Sheets-Sheet 9 91 8 1 muentor W. H. SUN N W Attorney June 8, 1943. w. H.SLINN STAMP COUNTING MACHINE Filed June 12, 1940 ll Sheets-Sheet 10 Fig.19.

//7 Van tor W.H 5L\NN [551% i Fig. 22.

June 8, 1943. w. H. SLINN 2,321,529

STAMP COUNTING MACHINE Filed June 12, 1940 ll Sheets-Sheet 11 PatentedJune 8, 1943 STAMP COUNTING ll'IACI-IINE Walter Herbert Slinn, London,England, assignor to R. B. Pullin & Company Limited, Brentford,Middlesex, England, a British company Application June 12, 1940, SerialNo. 340,204 In Great Britain June 13, 1939 14 Claims.

This invention aims at providing machines for counting stamps, whichterm includes any pieces of paper or the like issued in the form ofperforated sheets each containing a fixed number of pieces. The machinesare required to receive and count sets which vary in shape and in thenumber of stamps in the set from a complete sheet to a single stamp. Tofacilitate the description of the invention, it will be assumed that acomplete sheet contains sixty stamps, arranged in twelve transverse rowseach containing five stamps, but it will be understood that theinvention is not limited to machines for use with such sheets. Theactual sets may be of any shape; for example a set may consist of elevenstamps arranged in three rows, with four stamps in each of the first tworows and three in the third.

Essentially a machine according to the invention comprises first aseries of electrical circuits, 5

each including a relay, equal in number to the maximum number of stampsin a row and a mechanism for so feeding sets of stamps in succession tomeans for controlling the circuits that each stamp or line of stamps inthe set actuates the controlling means and operates a relay. -Preferablythe controlling means comprise five selector fingers beneath which thesets are fed and which are moved by the sets to control the circuits.

Next, the machine comprises a series of mechanisms, also equal in numberto the number of stamps in a row, each controlled by one of the fingersreferred to above and actuated in a specific manner each time the relayis operated. Each of these mechanisms serves to count the number ofstamps in one of the five lines or columns of the set, and may be calleda row counting mechanism.

Thirdly, the machine comprises means for adding together the numbers ofactuations of the row-counting mechanisms, and for registering theresult.

Preferably the five row-counting mechanisms are each electricallycontrolled by parallel cir-- cuits which are all controlled by amechanism that will be called the drive relay and that is operatedwhenever a row of stamps is passing beneath the selector fingers. Eachparallel circuit is also directly controlled by one of the selectorfingers, so that its row-counting mechanism will not be actuated unlessthe corresponding selector finger is moved by a stamp. Thus, if thereare five stamps in a row passing beneath the selector fingers, the driverelay will be actuated once and all five row-counting mechanisms willalso be actuated. If, however, only three stamps are passing in a rowbeneath the selector fingers, two of the parallel circuits will beinoperative, and only three of the row-counting mechanisms will beactuated.

In the preferred machine, the drive relay includes a continuouslyrotating shaft driven in synchronism with the set-feeding mechanism, anda cam-shaft clutched into engagement with the continuously driven shaftfor as long as any selector finger is moved by a stamp. The timing issuch that the cam-shaft makes one revolution in the time that it takes astamp to pass beneath a selector finger, and in each revolution of thecam-shaft a switch in circuit with the five parallel circuitscontrolling the row-counting mechanisms is actuated by the cam. Thisarrangement ensures that the total number of actuations of therow-counting mechanisms is equal to the number of stamps.

In order that the invention may be clearly understood and readilycarried into eifect, a specific example of a stamp counting machine inaccordance therewith will now be described with reference to theaccompanying drawings, in

which Figure 1 is an elevation of the mechanism by which the sheets orsets of stamps are fed through the machine;

Figure 2 is a plan of the arrangement shown in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a section on the line IIIIII in Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a section on the line IV-IV in Figure 1;

Figure 5 is an end elevation in section of a controlling mechanism whichresponds to the passage of each stamp through the machine, the sectionbeing taken on the line VV in Figure 6;

Figure 6 is a plan of the arrangement shown in Figure 5';

Figure 7 is a side elevation corresponding to Figure 5;

Figure 8 is a plan view, partly in section, of the mechanism referred toas the drive relay;

Figure 9 is a section on the line IXIX in Figure 8;

Figure 10.is an elevation partly in section, the section being taken onthe line XX in Figure 9;

Figure 11 is a plan view of a mechanism referred to as a ball-droppingrelay;

:tween the .two belts.

the belt :6. -'two belts is ensured by the provision of flanged Figure12 is a fragmentary view in elevation of the mechanism shown in Figure11;

Figure 13 is an elevation, partly in section, of an apparatus referredto as a ball-storage hopper;

Figure 14 is a plan view of the arrangement shown in Figure 13;

Figure 15 is a sectionon the line XV--XV in Figure 14;

Figure 16 is an elevation, to an enlarged scale, partly in section ofone of the components of the apparatus shown in Figures 13 to 15;

Figure 17 is an elevation of a mechanism by means of which the stamps"passingth'rough the machine are counted;

Figure 18 is a plan View of the mechanism shown in Fig. 17;

Figure 19 is a fragmentary view of part of the arrangement shown inFigure 1'7;

Figure 20 is an elevation of the complete maponents;

Figure I21 is a plan .viewofcthamachine shown in Figure 20; and v .ures1 to 4 includes a supporting :plate I, in

which are :journalled :four pulleys, 2,3,4 and withaa pair ofendlesslbeltsfi and 1 passing respectively around thepulleys52,"31andi4, v5. The

pulleysZ and 5 are coupledtogetherrbyza pair of spur gears'8 and 3.9,asshown inFigureilso'that when the pulleys .arezdrivenithereis-no slipThe- The "latter l-areipo'sitively driven at a constant speed, :ina"mannendesoribe'd below, and the contiguous runs of the two beltsare'forced to move in aicurvedhpath bythe'a'provisions of acurved-.guidep'late secured tothe supporting plate :1. Thus, the upperrun of the belt 1 rests on the curved guide plate l9 and is pressed intofirm contact with the lowerrcun of The *firm engagement between thejockey pulleys 'H and 12 mounted respectively 1 on bell-cranks t3 andjl'4'which are pivoted to the supporting plate I and are acted uponby'tension springs and 15. In :this WayKtheJjockey lpu'lleys are urgedoutwardly and so lmain'tain their associated belts taut, ensuring thatthe ,co-operating runs of the belts remain pressed firmly together.

The belt pulleys,2, 3, .4 andt5 rotate in thedi- 'rection of the curvedarrows shown in Figure "1,

so that the contiguous runs of :the two belts travel from left to right.A sheet or ;set of "stamps H is fed by hand into a slot lz'la-at theleft-hand end of the mechanism and :is correctly positioned :by sliding'it laterally until ,it encoun ters a guide plate Ill). The'l-attenis-so arranged that approximately half the width of theinnermostline of stamps .is gripped between-the contiguous runs of the endlessbelts, and'in-thisway the set of stamps I1 is fed -from left to rightthrough the mechanism. The set of stampsis supported and preventedfromsagging bypassing -overa ta-ble l8 indicated in Figure 2.

The stamp-feeding arrangement described above supplies the set of stampsIT to the mechanism shownin Fi ures 5 to '7. This mechanism includes aroller' lfl journalled horizontally in a supporting bracket '29, andvertically above this roller there are five narrow rollers 2l-25, whichare arranged to 'rotate a-s a unit and are coupled to the lower roller 19 by gearing 26 so that when chine showingthedisposition of thevarious;ccm-

34 pivoted at 35.

.the gaps between the narrow rollers 25-25, and

are pivoted on arod .3l extending parallel to the axes of the rollers.These selector fingers, which are all identical, are each formed with adownwardly extending pointed projection 32 (Figure '5), and each fingeris arranged so that its projection 32 just makes contact with thesurface of the roller l9. When the sheet of stamps is fed between therollers as indicated in Figures 5 and =6, the leading edge of'the firststamp in any line is caused to pass between the roller l9 and thecorresponding projection 32 of the selector finger concerned, and as aresult this lever is tilted slightly. This very slight tilting movementis magnified by causing the selector finger 30 to produce upwardmovement of a rod 33 by which themovement is communicated to a furtherlever The free end of the lever 34 is fitted with an abutment stud 36provided with an adjustment screw 31, and also carries a counter-weight31a. Two sets of spring-set contacts 38a38e and 3Sa-39e, the function ofwhich will be described below, are interconnected by 'a member 40 sothat they are operated simultaneously when the associated abutment stud3b is moved upwardly by the lever system.

with adequate clearance through an opening 42 in a stationary plate 43at one end of which there is an adjustable pin 44' acting 'as a guidefor the end of the selector finger 31!. 7

It will be seen from Figure 6 that there are five sets of the spring-setcontacts 38a-38e and Sim-39c, each set being associated with one of theselector fingers .30 and each actuated by its own lever system, andabutment stud 36. It will be appreciated that the arrangement is suchthat so long as there are stamps in the sheet I1 passing between one ofthe projections 32 and the roller 19, the corresponding selectorfinger3ll is tilted and, in the way already described, the associatedpairs of spring-sets are closed, and as a result the stamps arecountedin a manner which willbe described below. Whenever a, gap occurs in anyof the rows of the sheet of stamps, due to one or morestamps having beenremoved from that row, the selector finger 30 appertaining to the row inquestion reverts to its inoperative position, in which the associatedspring-sets are open, and when this is the case, the machine ceasescounting stamps for the particular part, of the ow in question. a

The mechanism shown in Figures 8 to 10 constitutes what is convenientlyreferred to as the .drive relay. It includes a continuously rotatingshaft '45 journalled in a supporting bracket 46 and provided at one endwith one half of a dog-clutch 41. The other half of this clutch iscarried on an axially slidable cam-shaft 48 to which a cam 49 is keyed.The cam-shaft 48 is journalled in ball-bearings 50 and is cupped at eachend to receive thrust balls 51 and 52 respectively. The end of the shaftwith the ball extends within the shaft 45 which is made hollow andcontains a block 53 which is urged into contact with the ball 5| bymeans of a spring 54 which is accommodated in the hollow shaft and bearsat its other end against an adjustment screw 55. The result is that theaction of the spring 54 tends to keep the two halves of the clutch 41separated so that the drive of the shaft 45' is not transmitted to thecam-shaft 48.

The ball 52 at the other end of the cam-shaft bears against an arm 55which is pivoted at 51 and carries the armature 58 of a solenoid 59constituting the actuating relay. When the latter is energised, andattracts its armature 58, the pivoted lever 58 is correspondinglydeflected and slides the cam-shaft 48 axially so as to cause the twohalves of the dog-clutch 41 to engage, thus causing the cam 49 to berotated. When the relay is de-energised, the lever 56 is restored to itsinitial position by the tension of a spring 60, and this enables thespring 54 to push the camshaft back to its original position in whichthe clutch 41 is disengaged.

The continuously rotating shaft 45 is driven in synchronism with thestamp-feeding mechanism shown in Figures 1 to 4 and the arrange ment issuch that each time one of the selector fingers 30 (Figures 5 to 7) isengaged by a stamp, the closing of those of the spring-sets Mia-38c and39a-39e concerned results in the drive relay 59 being energised,whereupon the cam 49 is rotated in the way already described. This camcontinues to rotate for as long as any selector finger is actuated by astamp, and the timing is such that the cam-shaft 43 makes one revolutionin the time that it takes a stamp to pass beneath the projection 32 ofthe corresponding selector finger 3D, and in each revolution of thecamshaft a spring-set -54 is closed by the cam. This spring-set 6| is incircuit with the spring-sets 3941-392 (Figure 5) associated with theselector fingers 30. The way in which these circuits function will bedescribed below.

In order to prevent the accumulation of small errors, provision is made,after each actuation of th drive relay 59, for restoring the cam-shaft48 to a definite zero position every time the relay is de-energised Thisis achieved by providing a radial tongue 52 on a disc 63 which issecured to the cam-shaft 48, the tongue in question being arranged toco-operate with a correspondingly shaped slot 64 formed in a pedestalB5. The resuit is that once the cam-shaft 43 has com menced to rotate,owing to the clutch 4'! being engaged, it must always carry out acomplete revolution because, as is cleariy shown in Figure l0, wheneverthe clutch 41 is engaged and the cam-shaft 48 commences to rotate, thetongue 62 (which has been shifted axially out of the slot 64 by thesliding movement of the cam-shaft) bears against the surface of thepedestal 65 and consequently must remain in this condition until itagain comes into registration with the slot 64.

Then, if the drive relay 59 has become de-energised in the meantime, thespring 54 acts to shift the cam-shaft 48 axially in the way alreadydescribed, this sliding movement being permitted by the fact that thetongue 62 can now enter the slot 64; It follows that so long as thedrive relay remains de-energised, the cam-shaft is maintained in adefinite zero position, since it is locked by the tongue 62 engagingwith the slot 64.

Owing to the fact that the teeth of the clutch 41 disengage gradually,and not instantaneously, when the tongue 62 enters into registrationwith the slot 64 after completing a revolution, there is a tendency forthe tongue to continue its turning movement in the slot until the clutchhas become fully disengaged. In order to allow for this, the wall of theslot which is approached by the turning tongue is constituted by a bladespring 64a which yields under the lateral force exerted by the tongueduring the time required for complete disengagement of the clutch 41. Asan additional safeguard, a further blade spring 64b is arranged asshown. It will be appreciated that as soon as the opposing teeth of theclutch are completely clear of each other, the springs 64a and 64brevert to their undefiected condition and consequently the tongue 62,and with it the cam-shaft 48, is restored to a definite zero position.

It may be mentioned here that the total number of stamps in any sheet orset which is passed through the machine is enumerated by means of asupply of balls, each of which represents one stamp. Every time that astamp comes into engagement with the projection 32 of one of theselector fingers 30 (Figure 5), one of the aforesaid balls isautomatically supplied from a storage hopper to an automatic countingdevice. The release of the balls is effected by means of devices whichmay conveniently be termed ball-drop ping relays. Five of these areemployed in the present example, there being one such relay associatedwith each of the five selector fingers. That is to say, eachball-dropping relay is energised each time that a stamp passes beneaththe projection of its associated selector finger, and consequently eachof these relays governs the counting of the stamps located in the linewith which it is associated.

One of the five ball-dropping relays is illustrated in Figures 11 and12. It is provided with a ball-chute 66 consisting of a hollow verticalcylinder, into which the balls 61 are supplied from a. ball-storagehopper, which is shown in Figures 13 to 15. The internal diameter of theball-chute 66 is only slightly larger than the diameter of the balls, sothat the latter rest on top of each other in the chute, as indicated inFigure 12. The lowermost ball at any time is embraced by a crutch 68,formed with three depending arms 69. This crutch is carried at one endof a lever 10 which is pivoted at ll and carries the armature 12 of theactuating relay 73. So long as the relay 13 remains de-energiscd, thecrutch is maintained in the position indicated in full lines in Figure11 by means of a laminated spring 14 acting upon the lever 10, and inthis condition the lowermost ball in the chute G6 is embraced by thearms of the crutch, and this state of affairs persists until the relay13 is energised. When this happens, owing to the attraction of thearmature 12, the crutch 68 is moved into the position shown in dottedlines in Figure 11 and as a result the hall wh ch is embraced by thecrutch is brought into registration with a discharge opening throughwhich it falls into the apparatus shown in Figures 17 to 19, by means ofwhich the balls are counted. The opening 15 is formed in a block 16, andas will be understood from what has already been said, its mouth is outof registration with the lower end of the ball-chute 65', the amount bywhich these two openings are out of registration being represented, ofcourse, by the lateral movement of the crutch.

When one of the'balls Blha-s been dropped through the opening l5, thesucceeding ball first of all rests on one of the lateral arms of thecrutch, so that when the latter is returned upon de-energisation of therelay I3, the ball in question rolls into the crutch, and so is ready tobe dropped through the opening 15 when the crutch is next displaced.When the crutch is in the position shown in full lines in Figure 11, theball which it embraces rests on a ledge ll of the block it.

The storage hopper from which theballs B1 are supplied to the chutes6001'? the five ball-droppin relays is shown in Figures 13 to 15. Thishopper comprises a box-like structure 18 the bottom of which is providedwith five tubular outlets 19, each of which is connected to one of theball-chutes 66 (Figure 12) of the five ball-dropping relays. The lowerpart of the hopper I8 contains a horizontal roller 80 which is rotatedthrough gearing 8|. A sloping metal plate 82 is arranged as shown inFigure 15 and some of the balls (not shown) in the hopper roll off thisplate onto the roller 00. It will be appreciated that the remainingballs will already be resting on the surface of the roller 30. Theinterior of the hopper I8 is also fitted with a series of curved guides83 which serve to guide the balls into the respective outlets I0.Moreover, in order to prevent the balls from becoming jammed, they arecontinuously agitated by providing the roller 80 with a number ofspring-pressed triggers 84. As shown in Figure 16, these triggers 84 arecarried on three rods 85 extending axially through the roller 80, whichis made hollow. The triggers project through slots 06 in the surface ofthe roller and each trigger is acted upon by a coiled spring 81 so thatit normally maintains the position indicated in Figure 15. The roller isrotated in the direction of the curved arrow in Figure and the triggers84 pass through slots 88 provided in the plate 32. The triggers do notpass centrally through the passages defined by the guides 83, but alongone side of these passages, as will be clear from Figure 14. As aresult, when the roller 00 rotates, the triggers 84 keep the balls in astate of agitation and so prevent them from becoming jammed in any wayin the entrances to the outlets 19. However, should any of the triggers8 experience undue resistance to its movement, the associated spring 81yields and the trigger in question can move back through its slot 86 inthe roller 80 until it is again restored to its normal position when ithas parted company with the balls.

As already mentioned above, the balls which are released by theball-dropping relays are supplied to the apparatus shown in Figures 17to 19. This constitutes a ball-counter-operating mechanism and also aball pump in that it pumps the balls 6? back to the ball-storage hopperafter they have been automatically counted. The balls collect in ahopper 90 at the top of this mechanism. As shown in Figure 19, thehopper has a sloping bottom from which the balls fall into a narrowchannel SI of rectangular cross-section containing a toothed wheel 02which is very similar to a bicycle sprocket and constitutes the pumpwheel of the ball pump. This pump wheel is driven through aspring-loaded fibre-faced friction clutch 93 (Figure 18) from a shaft 94(Figure 18) which is continuously driven through gearing 95 so long asthe machine is in operation. The pump wheel is mounted on a co-axialshaft 96, and the clutch spring 91 which surrounds this shaft isadjusted by means of nuts 08. The provision of the spring-loaded clutchserves as a safeguard in case a ball should jam anywhere between thepump wheel and the stationary parts of the apparatus, because in thatevent the clutch would slip and so obviate damage to the ball pump.

The width of the channel 9I is such that only one ball at a time candrop on to the pump wheel 92 and enter the gap between two successiveteeth, as indicated in Figure 1'7. In order to obviate the risk of theballs becoming jammed across the upper end of the channel 9 I, avertically reciprocating plate 99 is arranged to extend along one sideof the channel and to project into the base of the hopper 90 as shown inFigure 19. This plate 99, which is reciprocated by an eccentric I00 onthe shaft of the pump wheel, serves to break up any formation of theballs which might lead to jamming, as will readily be understood fromFigure 19. Moreover, a continuously revolving horizontal roller IOIdriven from the shaft 94 through gearing I02 is positioned, as shown inFigure 1'7, at the upper end of the channel 91 so that it is just clearof the teeth of the pump wheel. The purpose of this roller is to rollany ball that may be tending to jam into a vacant tooth space.

The pump wheel, which rotates in the direction of the curved arrow inFigure 17, serves to space out the balls at equal intervals and carriesthem around against a curved guide I03 which may be regarded asconstituting an extension of the channel 9I. It will be noticed that theroller IIlI is located adjacent the leading edge I03a of the guide I 03,i. e. slightly in advance of the point at which the teeth of the pumpwheel enter the space bounded by the guide I03. As a result, if a ballshould jam between the roller IOI and one of the approaching teeth, theclutch 03 momentarily slips whilst the roller rolls the ball into avacant tooth space.

As can be seen from Figures 18 and 19 the balls 61 project from bothsides of the teeth of the pump wheel but from one side more than theother, owing to the wheel being located nearer one side of the channel.The consequence of this is that as each ball, in turn, is carried pastthe end of a spring-pressed plunger I04 which projects slightly into thepath of travel of the balls,.the plunger is forced'outwardly against itsspring-set to energise the circuit of an electromagnetic counter. Thatis to say, each stamp that passes through the machine results in one ofthe balls 61 registering its presence electrically in the way described.

After each ball has actuated the plunger I04 it is forwarded by the pumpwheel to the lower end of a vertical tube I06 the side of which adjacentthe pump wheel is formed with a vertical slot to receive the teeth ofthe pump wheel. Thus, the teeth enter the lower end of the slot at I01(Figure 17) and carry the balls upwardly inside the tube I06 until eachtooth, in turn, moves out of the upper end of the slot leaving'the corresponding ball inside the tube. The first ball to be left in the tube inthis way drops down on to the next ball which is still being carriedupwardly by the pump wheel. When this second ball is freed from the pumpwheel the two balls rest on the next ball which is being carriedupwardly by the pump wheel. The consequence is that a column of theballs is gradually pumped up the tube I06 which leads into theball-storage hopper I8 shown in Figures 13 to 15.

The arrangement of the complete machine is indicated in Figures 20 andwhich represent respectively a side elevation and plan. The drive forthe various components is derived from an electric motor I08 through agear-box I09, a chain and sprocket drive I I being taken to a lay-shaftIII from which the pulley (Figure 1) is driven directly through adog-clutch. The latter is constituted by a pair of pins (not shown) onthe end of the lay-shaft engaging in slots H2 and H3 (Figure 1) formedin the hub of the pulley 5.

The superposed rollers (see also Figures 5 to 7) between which the sheetof stamps I1 is fed, are driven from the lay-shaft III by means of achain I42, and similarly a, chain I43 drives the sprocket 95 (see alsoFigure 18) of the ball pump P. The latter is connected by the tube I06to the ball-storage hopper I0 (see also Figures 13 to 15). The fiveball-dropping relays (see also Figures 11 and 12) are indicated atRl-R5, and it will be seen from Figure that they are located below theball-storage hopper l8 and above the hopper 90 of the ball pump.

Referring to the circuit diagram of Figure 22, the motor I08 isenergised from a current supply S. The five spring sets a-38e (see alsoFigures 5 and 6) are connected in parallel with one another and also inparallel with the winding of a delayed action relay H4 which, forconvenience, is termed the slugging relay. This relay H4 controls thedrive relay 59 by actuating its contact I I5 which are opened when theslugging relay I I4 is energised but fall back and close when the relayI I4 is deenergised. In other words, the de-energising of the sluggingrelay I I4 energises the drive relay 59 from the positive line S1,conductor I I9, contacts H5, relay 59, to the negative line S2. Also, aresistor I I B is connected in shunt with a pair of contacts H1 in thecircuit of the slugging relay II 4, which circuit runs from the positiveline S1, conductor H9, contacts I I1, relay winding H4, conductor I20,to the negative line The contacts H! are also opened when relay I I4 isenergised, and then include the resistor I I6 in the circuit of saidrelay for the purpose of reducing the current holding the relay I I4 inthe on position after it has operated, and thereby increasing the speedof break of relay I I4 owing to the consequent reduction of the timeneeded for its flux to collapse.

The slugging relay H4 is provided to take account of the fact that whatmay be termed the electrical length of a stamp is somewhat greater thanits actual physical length. This arises from the fact that when theleading edge of a stamp reaches the pointed projection 32 (Figure 5) ofone of the selector fingers 30, the selector finger in questioncommences to rock before the leading edge of the stamp arrives at theactual point of the projection. In fact, the rocking movement isinitiated when the leading edge of the stamp strikes the inclinedsurface of the projection 32. However, the selector finger does notreturn to its initial position until the actual point of the projection32 is cleared by the trailing edge of the stamp. In short, the sluggingrelay H4 has the effect of reducing the electrical length of a stamptoits physical length and also ensures that the drive relay 59 is onlyenergised once for each stamp that passes. The spring sets 39a.39e areconnected as shown, in parallel between the conductor I I9 and therespective ball-dropping relays RiR5 which are, therefore, connected inparallel between the positive line S1 and the negative line S2 throughthe spring set 6| (see also Figure 8), The latter, as already describedis controlled by the cam 49 which is actuated under the control of thedrive relay 59.

Assuming that a stamp passes beneath the projection 32 of the selectorfinger 30 (Figure 5) associated with the spring-sets 38a and 39a, bothof these are closed and the spring set 38a shortcircuits the relay H4.As a result, the slugging relay H4 is de-energised and the drive relay59 energised whereupon it causes the cam 49 to be rotated'to close thespring-set 6|, thus completing the circuit through the ball-droppingrelay R1 which is associated with the closed spring-set 39a. The ballwhich is released, in the way described earlier, closes the spring-setI05 (see also Figures 17 and 18) which energises an electromagneticcounter H8. The latter is preferably arranged to register the cash valueof the stamps passing through the machine.

If there are five stamps in the transverse row passing the selectorfingers at any given time, the drive relay receives one energisation butall the five ball-dropping relays Ri-R5 are now energised, so that fiveballs are released and proceed to the counting mechanism and ball-pump.

It has already been stated that every time a stamp comes into engagementwith the projection 32 of one of the selector fingers 30 (Figure 5), oneof the balls is automatically supplied from the storage hopper 18 to theautomatic counter operating device I04, I05. Indeed, when the projection32 encounters the first stamp of a longitudi nal line, it is actuated toclose a spring set, for instance, 38a, 39a, but if the next stamp in thelongitudinal line follows immediately after the first stamp and there isnot a gap or interval, the dog clutch 41 is kept in engagement becausethe drive relay 59 is kept energised owing to the fact that the sluggingrelay I I 4 is kept short-circuited by the spring set 38a. In otherwords, at the end of the first stamp, when the tongue 62 registers withthe slot 64, it is prevented from dropping into the slot and passes onfor a second revolution. This is continued until the end of thelongitudinal line of stamps is reached, or until a stamp in the line ismissing. The spring set 39a in circuit with the ball-dropping relay R1is kept closed during all this time, but the circuit of the relay R1 isopened and completed in each revolution of the shaft 48 by means of thecam 49, so that the relay R1 drops one ball during each revolution, thatis for each stamp in the line. In this Way, a ball is dropped by one orother of the relays R1 to R5 for each stamp in each of the longitudinallines, and the counter operating device I04, I05 is actuated a number oftimes equal to the total number of stamps in a sheet.

It may be mentioned in conclusion that both the drive relay 59 (Figures8 and 9) and the ball D p shown in Figures 17 and 18 constituteselfcontained units which may well be employed for other purposes havingno connection with stampcounting machines but for which thei respectivefunctions are of service. Thus, the drive relay could be used for anypurpose requiring a shaft to make one revolution for each energisationof the relay. Similarly, the ball pump may be used for any purposerequiring balls to be pumped in a stream from one point to another.

I claim:

. 1. A mechanism for counting stamps in complete or partial sheet form,comprising, in combination, means for feeding the sheet into themachine, a plurality of electrical circuits equal in number to themaximum number of stamps in a transverse row in any of said sheets, acorresponding number of selector fingers for controlling said circuitspivoted on a horizontal axis, a roller disposed below said selectorfingers, a downwardly extending pointed projection on the underside ofeach of said selector fingers normally just contacting the surface ofsaid roller, said sheet-feeding means conveying {the stamps between saidroller and said pointed projections to cause rocking of said selectorfingersior each line of stamps, electrical contacts associated with saidselector fingers, a, system of multiplying levers for actuating thecontacts associated with each of said selector fingers, means fortransmittingthe rocking movement of each of said selector fingers to thecorresponding system of multiplying levers, a counter, and counteroperating means controlled by said contacts.

2. A mechanism for counting stamps in complete or partial sheet form,comprising, in combination, means for feeding the sheets into themachine, a source of electrical supply, aplurality of electricalcircuits equal in number to the maximum number of stamps in a transverserow in any of said sheets, means for controlling said circuits, saidcircuit-controlling means being selectively operable by the stamps fedthereto, a hopper containing balls, a continuously rotating roller inthe lower part of said hopper, said lower part being formed withdischarge outlets, 'a series of curved guides leadingto said dischargeoutlets, resiliently mounted radial projections on said rollerpositioned to move upwards along ,one side of said curvedguides toprevent jamming of, said balls, means operative to release one ball fromsaid hopper for each actuation of said circuit-controlling means,andmeans for enumerating the total number of ballsreleasedfrom saidhopper.

'3. 'A machineasclaimed in claimx2, wherein said rolleris, formed withslots, and said radial projections are constituted by spring-pressedtrie a yof which recedes into the associated one'of. said slots in theevent of; undue resistance being encountered. I

'4. 'A mechanism for counting stamps in complete or partial sheet form,comprising, in combination, means-for feeding the sheets into themachine, a source of electrical-supply, aplurality oi electricalcircuits equal in number to the maximum number of stamps in a transverserow in any of said sheets, means for controlling said circuits, saidcircuit-controlling means being selectively operable'by the stamps fedthereto, a container for balls, means responsive to. theoperationof saidcircuit-controlling means to release one ball from said container foreach stamp fed through the machine, a hopper to receive the balls soreleased, a casing beneath said hopper, said casing being formed with anarrow channel, a frictionally-driven sprocket wheel mounted insaidchannel I so that balls from said hopper enter the spaces. betweenthe teeth of said sprocket Wheel, a spring-pressed plunger disposed insaid narrow channel toproject slightly in the pathof travel of the ballscarried by said sprocket wheel,switch contacts operable bysaid'spring-pressed plunger,

and electromagnetic counter operating means controlled by said switchcontacts, and a plate adapted to reciprocate in said channel to preventballs jamming :the mouth of said channel.

5. A mechanism for counting stamps in complete o partial sheet form,comprising, in combination, means for feeding the sheets into themachine, a source of electrical supply, a plurality 10 of electricalcircuits equal in number to the maximum number of stamps in a row of anyof said sets, means for controlling said circuits, saidcircult-controlling means being selectively operable by the stamps fedthereto, a container for balls,

means responsive to the operation of said circuit controlling means torelease one ball from said container for each stamp fed through themachine, a hopper to receive the balls so released, a casing beneathsaid hopper, said casing being 2!) formed with a narrow channel, africtionallydriven sprocket wheel mounted in said channel so that ballsfrom said hopper enter the spaces between the teeth of said sprocketwheel, a curved Wall forming part of saidcasing, aroller mounted :5 atthe upper end of said channel just clear of the teeth of said sprocketwheel and slightly in advance of the point at which said teeth enter thespace bounded by said curved wall, means for continuously rotating saidroller, a spring-pressed plunger disposed in said narrow channel toproject slightly in the path of travel of the balls carried by saidsprocket Wheel, switch contacts operable by said spring-pressed plunger,and electromagnetic counter operating means controlled by said switchcontacts.

6. A mechanism :for countin stamps in complete or partial sheet form,comprising, in combination, means for feeding the sheets into themachine, a source ,of'electrical supply, a plurality of electricalcircuitsequal in number to the maximum-number of stamps in a row of anyof said sets, means for controlling said circuits, saidcircuit-controlline means being selectively operable by the stamps 'fedthereto, a container for balls,- means responsiveto. the operation ofsaid circuitcontrolling means to release one ball from said containerfor-each stamp fed through the machine, a hopper to receive the balls soreleased, a

5 casing beneath said hopper, said casing being formed with avnarrowchannel, a frictionallydriven sprocket wheel mounted insaidchannel so that balls from said hopper enter the spaces between theteeth of said sprocket wheel, a curved wallforming part of said casingand constituting a retaining means, for the balls carried by saidsprocket wheel; said casing having a-tube which adjoins the exit end ofsaid curved 'wall and communicates with said ball container, the side ofsaid tube which faces said sprocket wheel being formed Withalongitudinal slot to receivethe teeth of said wheel, whereby the ballsforwarded by said wheel are propelled along said tube, being retainedtherein when. said wheel teeth pass out 65 Ofsaidslot; a counterandmeansfor operating a d unter, saidlast mentioned means being operable bythe balls, forwarded by said sprocket wheel.

7. A machineifor counting stamps in sets-of 0 perforated sheet form,comprising, in combinameans being selectively operable by the stamps fedthereto, a container for balls, means responsive to the operation ofsaid circuit-controlling means to release one ball from said containerfor each stamp fed through the machine, a hopper to receive the balls soreleased, a casing beneath said hopper, said casing being formed with anarrow channel, a frictionally-driven sprocket wheel mounted in saidchannel so that balls from said hopper enter the spaces between theteeth of said sprocket wheel, a reciprocatable plate mounted to extendalong one side of said channel and into the base of said hopper, meansfor reciprocating said plate to break up any formation of said ballsthat might lead to jamming, a counter and means for operating saidcounter, said last mentioned means being operable by the balls forwardedby said sprocket wheel.

8. An apparatus for propelling a stream of balls from one point toanother, comprising a container for said balls, a casing disposedbeneath said container, said casing being formed with a narrow channel,a frictionally-driven sprocket wheel mounted in said channel so thatballs from said container enter the spaces between the teeth of saidsprocket wheel, a curved guide forming part of said casing, and actingas a retaining means for the balls carried by said sprocket wheel, aroller mounted at the upper end of said channel just clear of said teethand slightly in advance of the point at which said teeth enter the spacebounded by said curved guide, and means for continuously rotating saidroller, said casing having a tube extending upwardly therein whichadjoins the exit end of said curved guide, the side of said tube whichfaces said sprocket wheel being formed with a longitudinal slot toreceive the teeth of said wheel; whereby the balls forwarded by saidwheel are propelled along said tube, being retained therein when saidteeth emerge from said slot.

9. A machine for counting stamps in a sheet composed of a plurality ofparallel longitudinal lines of stamps, the machine comprising, incombination, feelers allocated respectivel to said lines, means forfeeding said sheet past said feelers in the direction of saidlongitudinal lines, a counter and counter actuating mechanism adapted toundergo cyclic motion, operating means for said counter actuatingmechanism responsive to the passage of a sheet past said feelers wherebysaid counter actuating mechanism undergoes cyclic motion so long as astamp in the sheet is passing any one of said feelers, balldroppingcounting devices allocated to said feelers and actuated to releasecounter balls at a rate determined by said counter actuating mechanism,said feelers determining the number of balls released in each cyclicmovement of said actuating mechanism, and means for driving said feedingmeans at a rate equal to the rate at which said counter actuatingmechanism undergoes cyclic movement.

10. A machine for counting stamps in a sheet composed of a plurality oflongitudinal lines of stamps, adjacent stamps in different lines thereofcomposing transverse rows of stamps, the machine comprising, incombination, sensing means adapted to engage the sheet, means forfeeding said sheet past said sensing means in the direction of thelongitudinal lines of stamps whereby said sensing means engagessuccessively the transverse rows of stamps and the stamps in eachtransverse row simultaneously, a counter and counter actuating devicesallocated respectively to the longitudinal lines in the widest sheetthat the machine is designed to accommodate, actuatin mechanism for saidcounter actuating devices, said actuating mechanism being operativesimultaneously to actuate a group of said counter actuating devicesselected according to the number of stamps in a transverse row thereofpassing said sensing means and to actuate said selected groups insuccession at a rate corresponding to the rate at which said transverserows pass said sensing means and storage means interposed between saidcounter actuating devices and said counter whereby said counter maycontinue to count the stamps in a transverse row thereof after theactuation of a group of said counter actuating devices as a result ofthe action of the row of stamps on said sensing means.

11. A machine for counting stamps in a sheet composed of a plurality ofparallel longitudinal lines of stamps, the machine comprising, incombination, feelers allocated respectively to said lines, means forfeeding said sheet past said feelers, counting devices allocatedrespectively to said feelers and including electromagnets, sets ofcontacts respectively operated by said feelers and connectedrespectively to said electromagnets, further contacts to which saidelectromagnets are connected in parallel, a counter and counteractuating mechanism, electrically controlled means for driving saidcounter actuating mechanism cyclically, said electrically controlledmeans being rendered operative through said sets of contacts to causesaid counter actuating mechanism to undergo cyclic movement whenever astamp is in engagement with any of said feelers, and means for drivingsaid feeding means such that stamps pass said feelers at a rate equal tothe rate at which said counter actuating mechanism undergoes cyclicmovements, said counter actuating mechanism closing said furthercontacts in each cyclic movement and thereby completing circuit throughsuch of said counting devices as are in circuit with contacts, in saidsets of contacts,

7 closed by said feelers.

12. A machine for counting stamps in a sheet composed of a plurality oflongitudinal lines of stamps, adjacent stamps in different lines thereofcomposing transverse rows of stamps, the machine comprising, incombination, feelers allocated respectively to the longitudinal lines inthe widest sheet that the machine is designed to accommodate, means forfeeding said sheet past said feelers in the direction of thelongitudinal lines of stamps whereby said feelers engage successivelythe transvers rows of stamps and the stamps in each transverse rowsimultaneously, a counter operable by tokens, means for feeding saidtokens successively through operative relationship with such counter,token delivery devices allocated respectively to said feelers andoperative to deliver tokens to said token feeding means, means foractuating said token delivery devices selectively operable by saidfeelers, said actuating means including a member adapted to undergocyclic movement while any one of said feelers is in engagement with astamp, and also including elements adapted Whenever said lastmentionedmember is undergoing cyclic movement to operate said token deliverydevices simultaneously in groups respectively corresponding to thenumber of stamps in successive rows thereof passing said feelers.

13. A machine for counting stamps in a sheet composed of a plurality oflongitudinal lines of stamps, adjacent stamps 'in-diff'erent'linesthereof composing transverse rows of stamps, the machine comprising, incombination, .a plurality of feelers allocated respectively .to thelongitudinal lines in the widest sheet. that the machine is designed toaccommodate, electric switches allocated respectively to vsaid feelersto be operated selectively as stamps are fed past said feelers, meansfor feeding a sheet of stamps past said feelers in the direction of thelongitudinal lines of stamps whereby the transverse rows of stamps passsaid feelers in succession so that said switches are operated in groupsrespectively corresponding to the number of stamps in the successivetransverse rows thereof, token ,delivery devices allocated respectivelyto said switches, electric operating units for said token deliverydevices connected respectively to said switches, a switch common to saidoperating units, electrically operable means for closing said commonswitch periodically at a rate corresponding to the rate at which thetransverse rows of stamps pass said feelers, electrical control meansinterposed between said first-mentioned switches and said means foroperating said common switch whereby said common switch is closedperiodically so long as any of the feelers is in engagement with a stampin a passing sheet, and counter mechanism operable in succession bytokens delivered by said token delivery devices.

' is in engagement with a stamp in 14. A machine'for counting stamps ina sheet composed of a plurality of longitudinal lines of stamps,adjacent stamps in different lines thereof composing transverse rows ofstamps, the machine .comprising, in combination, a plurality of feelersallocated respectively to'the longitudinal lines in the widest sheetthat the machine :is designed to accommodate, means for feeding saidsheet in the direction of said longitudinal lines :past said feelers,switches operable by and allocated respectively to .said feelers,electrically,

operable counter actuating devices connected 'respectively to saidswitches, a master electric switch to which-the counter actuatingdevices are connected in parallel so that each said counter

